


Keeping Up Appearances

by wayward_winter_soldier



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bank Robbery, Brotherly Bonding, Cisco Ramon Needs A Hug, Cisco Ramon Whump, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Episode: s01e16 Rogue Time, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Hair-pulling, Hostage Situations, Hurt Cisco Ramon, Kidnapping, Leonard Snart is not very nice in this one i'm sorry, Non-Consensual Bondage, Protective Cisco Ramon, Protective Dante Ramon, Torture, Vibe Powers (The Flash TV 2014), i just wanna be a part of tags, i say graphic violence but it's not really that graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28517385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_winter_soldier/pseuds/wayward_winter_soldier
Summary: Rogue Time except Cisco's powers awaken sooner and Snart knows about them. He kidnaps him to both make the Rogue's weapons and to use his Vibes on their next heist, all the while Dante is there as leverage and Cisco desperately tries to protect his brother until Barry can find them.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Keeping Up Appearances

He should have known from the beginning that this was one huge trap. Women never hit on him. Not in bars or coffee shops or shopping malls. Women just never hit on him period. And sure, that was the sad reality he lived in, but he honestly should have known better. When was he ever that lucky? Never.

It was his own fault that Leonard Snart had gotten the best of him. And really, he rather be anywhere but with the Rogues, because his head was pounding and he was a little tipsy and extremely tired. All of it could easily be fixed with a cup of coffee or two but he highly doubted the Rogues would be that kind to him. He was right about that one, of course. And of course, there was Dante, tied to a chair in the corner of the room and sending his younger brother the dirtiest looks he could muster because he also knew that this was all Cisco's fault. 

"I know your secret, Ramon," Snart whispered into Cisco's ear as he stood, watching Mick and Lisa bring out all the equipment for him to build the new weapons. "I know what you can do. Your visions."

"How could you possibly know that," Cisco bit back, not even turning to look at Snart, focusing instead on his brother, who was pulling on the zip ties that kept him in place. Not even the team knew about Cisco's "Vibes" as he called them. He hadn't told anyone, so how the hell could Leonard Snart _possibly_ know?

"I have my ways. So, you're going to build us our weapons and then you're going to help us pull off a bank heist. And if you don't... well, let's just say the Ramon brothers won't be playing piano or building tech in the foreseeable future."

Cisco felt a chill run down his spine as Snart stopped leaning over him, a wicked smile plastered on his face. He pushed Cisco over to the table that held all of the materials and Cisco jumped at the touch. He tried not to notice Mick locking a cuff to his ankle that attached to the heavy oak table. Just focus on the weapons. Barry will come. Barry will know soon enough that Cisco is missing. His parents will notice that Dante is missing. Someone will realize. He wasn't usually one for the whole damsel in distress act, but right now he was pretty sure that was his only hope.

So he got to work and tried his best to ignore the ache in his head and the eyes that watched him like hawks. Because right now that was all he really could do. His mind raced for ways to put fail-safes in place on the weapons without the Rogues noticing. His thought process was interrupted by a hushed voice.

_"Cisco!"_

He looked over to where his brother sat, a good five feet away from the table. With the chain around his ankle, he would never be able to reach him.

"Dante, just keep cool, okay? Let me do my thing."

"And _what?_ You're gonna save us with your _mechanical engineering skills?"_

"Right now, my _skills_ are the only things keeping us alive, so if I were you, I would _shut up."_

"You shut up!" Mick roared from where he sat at the fireplace, drinking.

The Ramon brothers shut up.

* * *

Cisco tried his best to ignore the looks Dante gave him. He knew what his brother was thinking. This was Cisco's fault. He wasn't wrong. Cisco took the blame for this one, but he wasn't so sure his brother knew just how much trouble they were in at the moment. How much pain the Rogues could inflict. Cisco's secret. The last thing Cisco wanted was for Dante to find out about his Vibes. He couldn't control them. They happened at random and left him with crippling headaches that lasted for hours that no medicine could subdue. He didn't understand them. Was he a Meta-Human? Was this his power? If so, it was an extremely lame power compared to super speed. Less of a gift and more of a consequence.

But if Snart did what he said he would, Cisco would have to use the powers, despite not knowing how they worked at all. Which in and of itself was far more terrifying than what would happen when Cisco finished the damned guns.

"What, Lenny, you and Mick get all the fun?" the voice of Lisa Snart said from the other room. "I want a gun too."

"Go tell the boy."

Cisco felt his face flush red as he looked back down at the trigger mechanism he was crafting for the heat gun. Great, another weapon in the hands of a power-hungry criminal. That's exactly what they needed. He could hear her heels on the hardwood floor approaching him. Her fingers ran seductively through his long hair, tucking a strand behind his ear as he tried his best to control his breathing and ignore the woman.

"Make me something pretty and toxic, like me. How about something with gold?" she mused, her long nails still in his hair. "Write down what you need. I'll get it for you."

Cisco didn't reply, only watched as she released his hair from her grip and pushed a yellow legal pad and pencil in front of him. He sighed, taking the pencil in his hands.

"And what if I don't do this for you," he dared, finally looking into the woman's eyes. "What if I say no."

She smiled in a sickly-sweet way. "Then I'll tear your brother apart limb by limb until not even your mother can identify the body."

Dante shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Cisco began writing down the things he would need for Lisa's gold gun.

* * *

"They're done. Now let us go."

Snart picked up the cold gun, examining it thoroughly. "I know you tampered with it, Ramon. What kind of _fool_ do you take me for?"

Cisco stiffened as Snart threw the gun down onto the table, making him jump at the noise. "Do you _want_ me to kill your brother? Is that it?

Snart started to move towards Dante in a threatening manner. Cisco's heart beat rapidly.

"No, no, stop! Leave him alone!" Cisco demanded, pulling on the ankle restraint as far as it would go. "Take it out on me! I'm the one who built it!"

Snart paused, turning around ever so slowly. "Your heroism is admirable, I must say. Though, ill-placed."

He walked towards Cisco, who could feel himself already flinching for what was about to come.

"You're lucky I need your hands, kid," Snart said before he punched Cisco in the gut, sending the engineer to the ground and on his side, arms protectively wrapped around his torso to protect it.

Snart didn't seem to care, though, as he started kicking Cisco's stomach, almost relishing in the cries of pain that came from Cisco.

"Stop, _stop it!_ You're gonna kill him!" Dante begged, but was quickly silenced by the muzzle of a gun pressed against his head by Mick.

It was over almost as quickly as it had begun, but it had felt like it had gone on for hours, at least to the Ramon brothers. Cisco laid limply on the wooden floor, his arms half-heartedly wrapped around his abdomen. His hair covered his face, but his eyes were tightly closed. Dante struggled against the zip ties, wanting to rush to his brother's side.

"Use that as a lesson, kid," Snart said, his gaze meeting Dante's. "Don't be a hero."

Cisco groaned as Snart pulled him up by his hair and pushed him harshly against the table, forcing Cisco to grab at the edge for support. His head was bent over his work and he was breathing heavily.

Snart and Lisa exited and Mick put his gun away, assuming the siblings wouldn't be a problem any longer.

"Hermano, ¿qué _diablos_ fue eso?" Dante demanded, not caring if Mick told him off for talking. _Brother, what the_ hell _was that?_

"It's okay, I'm okay," Cisco said, his voice wavering slightly as he grabbed the cold gun and a screwdriver to remove the safe-guard from the gun's trigger. "We'll be okay."

Dante didn't believe a word Cisco said.

* * *

Snart knew when they were done that Cisco hadn't tried anything again. He smiled at him, but Cisco did not return the favor, only looked over towards his brother.

"Good job," Snart commented.

"So, you'll let us go?" Cisco asked, his voice almost seeming weaker than the last time the two had spoken.

Snart laughed. "Nice try. You know we still need your help. But, you can take a rest now. We'll even untie your brother, put you two up in a room. How's that for nice?"

"Wow, it's like you're damn Mother Theresa," Cisco spat, though there wasn't much bite to the remark. 

Snart chose to ignore him, nodding at Mick to untie Dante as he unlocked the cuff around Cisco's ankle. He grabbed Cisco's upper arm roughly and followed Mick, who had Dante in his grasp, down a hallway that seemed to loop and wind forever. Finally, they stopped at a door that had about half a dozen padlocks installed. Lisa opened it and stepped back, watching as the two men led their captives into the room.

It was a bedroom that was slightly modified. For one, there was only a queen-sized bed and a door that most likely led to a bathroom. There was no other furniture, but on the feet of the bed were cuffs that seemed to just be waiting to be used. The windows had plywood nailed against them to prevent escape. The floor was the same hardwood from the previous room.

"Home sweet home," Snart said sarcastically, pushing Cisco roughly in, who fell to the ground, unable to catch or balance himself. Mick did the same with Dante, but his hand caught onto the frame of the bed. Lisa attached a cuff to each of the Ramon brother's legs, winking at Cisco as she did his.

"The cuffs can reach the bathroom over there, don't worry," Snart said as if he was reading their minds. 

The brothers didn't reply. Snart shrugged and exited the room, Lisa and Mick following behind. The sound of locks clicking into place could be heard and then footsteps walking away from their location. Dante rushed over to Cisco and picked him up off of the floor as gently as he could, leading him to the bed.

"Sit, let me look at your stomach," Dante commanded.

"What, are you a doctor now?" Cisco joked though he sat down on the bed anyway.

"Lift your shirt, _cabrón_."

Cisco obeyed, struggling a bit to lift the hem up high enough to display his stomach. Dante's breath hitched.

"That bad?" Cisco coughed a little, hoping that didn't prove any point to Dante.

"Cisco, your entire stomach is bruised like hell. You need a doctor."

Dante was right. Cisco looked down to see the damage and wasn't very surprised to see his stomach a mess of blues and purples. The middle of his stomach must have been Snart's target as it was more black than anything other colors. And it hurt like hell, that was for sure, though the last thing Cisco wanted to do was show weakness, even just with Dante.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I do," Cisco sighed, pulling his shirt down. 

"Lay down at least and rest."

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Cisco demanded, not laying down.

"Cisco-"

"No, you were being your grade-A jerk self earlier and now you're concerned for me. What changed? This whole thing is still all my fault, that hasn't changed."

"Cisco, you just took a beating for me," Dante informed him like he hadn't been there himself.

"Yeah, and it was my fault. I messed with the guns-"

"Cisco, for once in your life, shut the hell up," Dante sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't care who's fault it is that we're in this situation. If it's anyone's, it's those guys out there who have us locked in a room. But it's not yours. You're hurt because of them. And I bet they'll hurt you again. And it should have been me who got hurt. I'm the big brother, I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around."

Cisco shook his head. He never knew Dante felt like this. He never knew he had some sort of moral responsibility simply because he was the eldest sibling. "Dante, we're gonna get out of here. Okay? But I'm not gonna let you get hurt because of my mistakes, okay?"

Dante ignored Cisco, though he knew he had been listening. "Get some rest, okay?" Dante pulled the blanket on the bed back and watched as Cisco crawled under them, replacing them when his little brother was comfortable.

"You too," Cisco pointed out.

"Yeah, I will. You first, _hermano_."

* * *

Cisco had a Vibe while he was sleeping. In it, he saw Barry at a crime scene with Joe. It was quick, only a couple of seconds, so Cisco didn't pick up on anything the two talked about. The scene seemed to be a casino of some sort though, but that was all Cisco had. Not a very good sign.

He had woken up before Dante, who was sleeping next to him in the large bed about as far away as he could manage while still being on the bed. Cisco rolled his eyes and pushed back the covers to look at his stomach. It was still bruised. Not like he expected anything to change because he slept for a few hours. He sighed, listening to the sound of footsteps coming towards the bedroom. His heart began to beat rapidly in his chest. Great. This was the last thing he needed right now.

The sound of locks clicking came next and then the door opened with Snart on the other side, his usually smug smirk on his face.

"Get up, Ramon, and maybe I'll give your brother something to eat when he wakes up."

Cisco sighed and pushed himself up as best as he could, trying not to touch his stomach. Snart unlocked the chain on his ankle and grabbed his wrists, locking a pair of handcuffs around them.

"It's precautionary," he informed when Cisco gave him a look. The taller man pulled Cisco to his feet. Cisco felt his knees give out and knew if Snart hadn't been holding him he would have fallen on his face (or, more importantly, his stomach). 

"C'mon," Snart said, dragging the youngest Ramon brother out of the room and down the hall, Lisa left behind to lock the door once again before following them.

"We're gonna see what you can do," Snart said, turning left.

"I can't control it," Cisco informed, letting Snart lead his tired body down the long hallway.

"We'll see about that," was all Snart said before they entered a new room. It wasn't the one from the previous day. It was more of a home office than a living room/dining room combo. Mick was already there waiting, sitting on top of a desk with the heat gun in his lap. Snart pushed Cisco into a wooden chair positioned in the middle floor and attached a cuff to each ankle, leaving the handcuffs on.

"We want you to see the bank we're gonna rob," Snart informed, leaning against the wall casually. "Tell us all about the security, what it's like behind the scenes."

"Can't you do that without me?" Cisco asked. "Or are you not as good as they say?"

Snart walked over and slapped Cisco roughly across the face in response. "Oh, we're good, but so is this bank. Very innovative security systems. It's Central City First. So, do your freak thing and tell us what we're up against. Here."

Snart grabbed something off the table and shoved it into Cisco's cuffed hands. It was a pen with the bank's name on it. "Use that. I know sometimes you gotta touch something to make it work."

"How the hell do you even know anything about my powers?" Cisco asked, gripping the pen tightly in his hands.

"I have my ways, I told you that. Now, do your thing, or your stomach won't be the only thing hurting."

"And I told you, I can't control it!"

"I don't need your excuses as to why you can't get it up, Ramon. Now, I won't tell you again. Do your vision thing or your brother goes home in a damn body bag."

Cisco shivered at the thought of Dante's dead body. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. Where the hell was Barry?

He tried to focus on the pen and its history. He held onto it tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. Nothing was working. He had never tried to initiate a Vibe before. They always just came to him.

"Well?"

"It's not working!" Cisco protested, throwing the pen across the room in frustration. The guns he understood, but now they wanted something he simply couldn't give to them. Snart calmly picked the pen up off the floor and clicked it so the tip stuck out. He crossed the floor and stabbed the pen into Cisco's thigh harshly, leaving it to pierce through his jeans and skin.

Cisco cried out in pain and his vision turned blue.

_A bank, a really big one. It looked really fancy and Cisco could see why the Rogues wanted to rob it. There were two armed guards at the door and two others in the back next to a door that Cisco assumed led to the vault. Cameras were also everywhere. He walked around, watching as the people made deposits and withdrawals at the front desks. The Vibe, like the one he had while he slept, didn't last long and soon he was back in reality._

"See, all you needed was a little push," Snart smirked, pulling the pen out of Cisco's thigh, which made him cry out once again. He could feel his nose bleeding but no one seemed to care.

"What did you see?" Lisa questioned from her place in the desk chair.

"Four armed guards in the lobby... a ton of cameras. That's all I saw, I swear," Cisco panted, still feeling the blood gush out of his nose.

"Good. Very good, Ramon. Looks like your brother gets to eat. Mick, if you would..."

Mick stood and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Now... again," Snart said, the pen going into Cisco's shoulder next.

* * *

Dante heard the door unlock and stood up quickly from the bed, hoping it was Cisco this time. The last time had been food, which he ate quickly since he wasn't sure if they would take it away before he finished. He wasn't taking his chances.

His brother was shoved into the room, his hands cuffed in front of him. He looked exhausted. His hair was in his face and he flipped his head a bit to push it out of the way. Dante could see dried blood under his nose, bags under his eyes, and the start of a bruise on his cheek.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Dante demanded, watching as Snart unlocked the handcuffs and Mick put the ankle chain on once again.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Snart said. "Have a nice night."

Soon they were gone and the door was locked once more. Cisco stood motionlessly by the bed as if the Rogues were still in the room. He rubbed his wrists sub-consciously.

"Cisco, sit down, you don't look so good," Dante said, leading his brother over to the bed. He brushed Cisco's hair behind his ears so he could get a better look at his face.

"Jesus, let me see if there's a towel," Dante said, standing and heading to the bathroom. He returned a minute later, a damp washcloth in his hands. He returned to his spot next to Cisco and began to clean up the blood under his nose. Cisco was still spacing out, which worried Dante.

"Cisco, talk to me, man," Dante said desperately, grabbing on to Cisco's hand. Cisco didn't grip back, but he didn't flinch either. "You're scaring me, dude."

"Sorry," Cisco said softly, almost too quiet to hear.

"It's... G-d, it's not your fault, _okay_. Is there anywhere else that hurts? How's your stomach?"

Cisco's eyes gazed down to his thigh and Dante's followed to see a small patch of blood on his jeans. He noticed it on Cisco's T-shirt, too. It was white and the blood should have stood out immediately, but Dante had been preoccupied with the bloody nose and the slap mark.

"It was a pen," Cisco answered the question Dante never asked. "Don't suppose the bathroom has a couple of Band-Aids, huh?"

Dante shook his head, though he was too distracted to really pay attention to what he was doing. He was busy looking at his little brother and cataloging every injury he had. He looked even younger with all the injuries. More like an abused child or a kicked puppy than an adult with a Master's in engineering. 

"Let me just clean-"

"I just wanna sleep, Dante. Please?"

Dante wanted to protest and tell Cisco that he had to take a look at the injuries from the pen, but the sad, innocent look Cisco gave him made his heart melt into a puddle. 

"Yeah, yeah, get some sleep, okay?"

Cisco didn't need to be told twice. He carefully pushed the blankets back and laid down, pulling them over his body that seemed to be permanently cold. Dante brushed Cisco's hair with his fingertips until his breathing slowed and he fell asleep.

" _Lo siento, hermano."_

* * *

Cisco was gone when Dante woke up from where he had fallen asleep, slumped against the headboard of the bed. He cursed himself for letting his guard down. He should have been awake when they had come for Cisco.

The door opened and Dante hadn't even heard the locks. Mick walked in with his meal; a sandwich, apple, and bottle of water. Dante watched him place it on the bed.

"Where's my brother? What are you doing to him?" Dante demanded.

"Don't worry about it," Mick said. Before Dante could protest, the door was closed once more. Dante sighed, grabbing the food and pushing it closer to him. He was about to bite into the apple but he stopped. Were they feeding Cisco? Cisco had fallen asleep before Dante could ask him yesterday, but there was a sick and twisted feeling in his gut that told him Cisco wasn't getting nearly as great of treatment as Dante was. He knew why that was, too. Cisco was doing what they wanted and in return, Dante wasn't being hurt. Dante couldn't help but feel guilty over that.

He lifted a pillow and hid the food for when Cisco came back.

Meanwhile, Cisco found himself in the same room from the day before. Snart was beginning to grow impatient with the shortness of Cisco's Vibes. It wasn't like he was doing it on purpose. He had told Snart he couldn't control them and he wasn't lying about that. He really had no idea how the Vibes worked. 

"Try again!" Snart demanded in a loud voice, making Cisco jump at the sheer volume.

"I'm trying!" Cisco cried. He could feel tears in the corner of his eyes and quickly blinked them away, not wanting to let Leonard Snart see him cry. "I can't control them!"

"Well, maybe you just need a little help!"

Cisco didn't like the sound of that. He remembered the pen from the day before but something told him whatever Snart had planned would be worse. He watched as Snart grabbed the cold gun off the desk. Cisco stiffened in his seat. "Don't."

"I still may need your hands. You never know. But I don't need your feet."

Mick stood quickly and went for Cisco's shoes. He tried to kick at the stronger man but he simply held his legs in place so he could remove the shoes and socks from each foot. He then stood and pushed him back into the chair, holding him there.

"Now, this might be a bit... chilly," Snart said, a smug smile on his face as he aimed the gun at Cisco's bare feet. He screamed in pain. It felt as if someone had plunged his entire body into an ice bath that also happened to have needles thrown in. 

"Don't worry, it's only first degree. You'll live to walk another day."

Cisco wanted to say something snarky back but all he could focus on was his now bright-red feet. The pain was overwhelming and sent him into another Vibe.

_It was S.T.A.R. Labs this time, not the bank. Everyone was in the room where the comms and Barry's Flash suit lived, and they all looked really sad. Cisco tried to see if there was any information on the computer screens, but they were blank._

_"Barr, we'll find him. We'll find Cisco."_

_Cisco felt his heart flutter at his name. So they were looking for him. This was good. He just had to hang on a little bit longer. Barry was going to come. He would find him. He knew it._

"What did you see?"

"Nothing, it had nothing to do with the bank, I swear," Cisco said quickly, not daring to look into Snart's eyes.

Snart stared at Cisco for a moment, considering whether or not he was lying. Finally, he decided he wasn't. "Okay. Try again, because I won't spare your brother's hands as I do yours."

Cisco nodded rapidly and accepted the pen from Lisa in his hand. He gripped it tightly and tried his best to focus.

* * *

When Dante heard the locks turn again, he stood up quickly from the bed in case Cisco was hurt and needed help getting to the bed. He was indeed hurt. Mick and Snart had either side of him and were dragging him into the room. Dante watched, mouth agape, as they tossed Cisco onto the bed.

"Don't worry about the cuffs, Lisa," Snart said. "He's not going anywhere."

He was indeed right. There was no way Cisco was going anywhere. Dante couldn't help but stare at his brother's frostbitten feet. They were bright red and looked extremely painful.

"Leave him alone! He gave you the guns you wanted so why are you still keeping us here? Why are you hurting him?"

Snart smiled at the oldest Ramon brother like he knew something he didn't. "We still need Cisco for a few things. We don't hurt him unprovoked."

The three left and the door once again locked behind them. Dante grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped Cisco's freezing cold feet up. He didn't really know what he was doing, he'd never had to treat someone for frostbite before. He remembered the food under the pillow and retrieved them.

"Cisco, when's the last time you ate?" Dante asked.

"The bar. I had some pretzels."

That had been nearly three days ago.

"Here, they gave me this. G-d, they're not even _feeding_ you?" Dante shoved the food and water into Cisco's lap. He looked at it confused.

"It's for you," he said simply.

"Cisco, they're not feeding you. You just told me that. If you want your injuries to get better you have to keep your strength up. You need to eat."

"No, it's for you. They promised."

"What?" Dante asked, confused.

"If I do what they want, you get food. They leave you alone."

Dante felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. G-d, was that why they never laid a hand on him? Cisco was taking punishments instead of Dante? Dante couldn't help but think about his poor little brother being beaten every day just so they would give him one meal a day and not hit him. For a moment, all he saw was red. Pure, unadulterated anger towards the people who were holding them captive. He tried his best to subdue it, though. He didn't want Cisco to think he was mad at him.

"Cisco, we talked about this, man. I'm the big brother, I'm supposed to protect you, okay?"

"I can protect you too," Cisco said, giving his brother a sort of lop-sided smile.

"Yeah, sure, of course, _hermano_. Now, _eat."_

Cisco obeyed and Dante tried not to think about all the ways he had fucked up as an older brother.

* * *

This went on for about a week. Cisco would disappear for the day so the Rogues could force him to Vibe the ins and outs of Central City First and Dante would sit in the locked bedroom, saving half his daily meal for when Cisco returned. Half the water and the sandwich. Dante ate the apple. The sandwich had more calories in it and that's what Cisco needed. He was starting to look thin. Dante didn't know what Cisco was working on during the day, but he always came back with a new injury and blood running down his nose and sometimes his ears. Burns on his forearms, a couple of fingernails gone, a black eye. He could barely walk still, but he was getting better at it, enough for the Rogues to go back to using the cuff on the bed. 

Slowly but surely the Rogues were getting all the information they needed to pull off the heist. Snart had declared that Cisco had Vibed everything they needed to pull the gig off ten days after the Rogues had kidnapped the Ramon brothers.

"So, are... are you going to let us go now?" Cisco asked, still out of breath from the Vibe. Blood poured out of his nose and he knew that when this was all over he was going to throw out this shirt which sucked since he actually really liked it.

"No, I don't think so," Snart said.

"What? You promised!"

"How about I let your brother go? You, I still want. You're coming with us to the bank."

Cisco huffed in an annoyed way but didn't reply. They were letting Dante go. There was that. And the Flash would definitely know there was a bank robbery in process so he would race over there and save Cisco. He just had to wait a little longer.

"Okay. Let Dante go."

"I'm a man of my word, Ramon."

"Can I... Can I say goodbye first?" Cisco asked meekly. 

Snart nodded. "Of course. I'm not heartless."

Cisco highly doubted that but watched as Mick uncuffed him from the chair and walked him to where Dante was. Cisco had to put a lot of his weight on Mick because of his feet. He watched as Snart unlocked the door and Cisco stumbled in.

"Cisco, hey," Dante said in the quiet way he had taken to talking to Cisco in. Like Cisco was a scared child.

"Dante, they're letting you go," Cisco said, leaning against the wall.

"What about you?"

"We'll only be keeping your brother for a couple of days. Don't worry," Snart said, though it did nothing to curve Dante's fears.

"No, if he's staying, I'm staying!"

"Dante, no, just go. Go home."

"Listen to your brother. Go. As long as you don't go to the cops about this, you'll see your brother again."

Dante looked like he was about to cry. He rushed over to Cisco and hugged him tightly.

"Go to S.T.A.R. Labs. Tell them it's Central City First," Cisco whispered into Dante's ear as the two embraced. Dante gave the smallest of nods and broke up the hug, allowing for Mick to lead him out of the house.

"We have work to do, Ramon," Snart said. Cisco nodded, hoping that Dante would get to S.T.A.R. Labs so Barry could finally put the Rogues behind bars where they belonged.

* * *

Cisco tried to not look hopeless as the van pulled up to the bank. There was no Flash waiting, not even police. Maybe Dante hadn't listened to Cisco at all. Maybe he thought Cisco was just crazy. A lot of maybes ran through Cisco's mind as Mick put the van in park. Snart pulled his goggles over his eyes and turned in the passenger seat to look at Cisco.

"Remember what we said-"

"Yeah, Vibe while in there. Snart, you know I can't just turn them on and off-"

Snart held his hand up in a _stop_ motion. "I don't want to hear your whining, Ramon."

Cisco shut up and watched as the Rogues got out of the car, Lisa taking Cisco's hand in hers and pulling him out. He stiffened as his bare feet hit the pavement. They hadn't even given him his socks back. Cisco's gaze met the guns attached to each Rogue's belt and he was quickly starting to lose hope. This was it. 

"C'mon, try to look more excited," Lisa joked, her hand still holding Cisco's as the four walked to the main entrance of the building. The cameras were already knocked out. They had done that last night (well, Cisco had, and he felt disgusting about it). The bank wasn't too busy, which Cisco was glad for. The last thing he wanted was more civilians in the cross-fire. Cisco stumbled a bit and would have fallen if not for Lisa's grip on him.

"Keep up," she hissed. 

The guards weren't out and Cisco knew they wouldn't be. There was a shift change at this point in the day. An awkward fifteen minutes where no guards patrolled the lobby. 

"Listen up everyone," Leonard Snart yelled, aiming his cold gun to the ceiling. "I'm here to make a withdrawal!"

The half-dozen of bank patrons cried out in fear. Cisco saw the workers go for the panic buttons but they wouldn't work. They had already cut the wires that connected the buttons to the silent police alarm. Lisa let go of Cisco and tosses him to the side like a sack of potatoes. He fell hard against the linoleum flooring, barely catching himself. Mick was currently flamethrowing all the couches used for waiting customers as the workers and patrons cowered behind tables and desks. Cisco tried to crawl across the room to perhaps help the scared people but he was quickly stopped by Mick shooting fire at his legs. His jeans caught on fire and he screamed, slamming his leg on the ground to put out the flame. That's it, the entire outfit was going straight to the trash once he was free of the Rogues.

"Going somewhere?" Mick asked. Cisco didn't reply, only held his calf to his chest. It wasn't burnt too badly, the jeans had taken the brunt of the fire, but it was no exposed giving him a sort of cast-away look.

"Mick, we need him alive," Snart reminded the man, zip-tying the hands of the employees with Lisa's help.

"He's not even that hurt," Mick protested.

"Whatever, grab him," Snart said, finishing with the ties and rolling his eyes. Mick grabbed Cisco's upper arm roughly and pulled him to his feet, ignoring his cry of pain. They followed Snart and Lisa to the vault. Cisco struggled half-heartedly in Mick's grip. Snart was about to freeze off the vault lock when there was a sudden burst of air.

"Flash," Snart sneered. He grabbed Cisco by his free arm and pressed him against his chest, the cold gun aimed right against Cisco's head.

The lightning ceased and there stood Barry in his Flash outfit. "Let him go, Snart."

"Unlikely. The kid's been a great help. Built our guns, gave us great insights on the bank. And now he's our hostage. One move and I'll give him the world's worst brain freeze."

Barry glared at Snart but his eyes softened when they met Cisco's. He looked terrified and Barry couldn't blame him. He didn't look very good, either. He wasn't even wearing shoes, and was that a burn on his leg?

"Give it up. The cops will be here in less than a minute. All three of you are going away for a long time."

"Not when I have your precious engineer."

Barry looked slightly taken aback for a moment but quickly regain his natural face. Snart saw through it anyway.

"What? Do you think I don't know about little Cisco? About his engineering skills and his powers?"

"What powers?" Barry asked.

"Oh," Snart said, faking surprise. "You didn't know about that? I guess word doesn't travel very fast for you, huh?"

Barry looked like he really wanted to punch Snart in the face, but both Mick and Lisa had their guns trained on him and Cisco was still Snart's hostage. Cisco could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps coming towards them.

"That's the police, Snart. You're outnumbered."

"But not outgunned," Snart pointed out. He shifted his aim from Cisco's head to Barry and that was all he needed. He ran, dodging the gun blasts and grabbing Cisco running him outside to the waiting ambulance and then back to take the Rogues' guns. That was when Joe burst in with the rest of the unit to cuff them.

"This won't last long, Flash," Snart promised as he was led out of the room. 

"Unlikely," Barry answered. He nodded at Joe and raced back outside to Cisco.

"Hey, you okay, man? I'm sorry, I've been looking for you everywhere-"

Cisco pulled Barry into a tight hug. "Yeah. I'm good. Thank you."

"Of course. Your brother's at the lab. He's the one that told us where you were."

Cisco smiled into Barry's shoulder. So Dante had listened after all. Well, there was a first for everything.

"Let's go home," Barry said. "Caitlin'll fix you up."

Cisco nodded, letting Barry pick him up for the journey home. He thought of the off-hand remark Snart had made about his powers and he was really hoping not to discuss that with Barry just yet. The last thing he wanted was everyone to find out.

What he didn't know was that Dr. Harrison Wells, or Eobard Thawne, more accurately, already knew about Cisco's powers and had been the one to tell Leonard Snart about them. Though, it wasn't like the two parties would ever admit to that. At least not yet.


End file.
